Love Will Tell Us Where to Go
by glamgirl16
Summary: This is a story I wrote based off of Love Will Tell Us Where to Go by Bridgit Mendler and (somewhat) R5. It's about Riker Lynch and my OC, Skye, on the run from pretty much anything that chases them. But when some old friends of Riker's threaten to take Skye, they must travel farther than they ever had to get away. More description inside. Rated T for mild language & mature topics.
1. We Gotta Get Away

This has nothing to do with Austin & Ally. I only put it in this category because it was the closest thing I could find. Riker is really the only member of R5 or the Lynches in this story but I might hint towards them later. Some R5 songs with be included in the story as well. A few extra things you should know: In this story Riker is 18 years old and my OC, Skye, is 16. This story takes place in the year 2009. If there are any questions about the story that you have after reading please, don't be afraid to ask me in a review. I love getting feed back from my readers :)

Now, enjoy chapter one!

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Day 1:

Boston, Massachusetts

6:00 a.m., April 18th

Sirens blared and the red and blue lights flashed against the brick wall of the alleyway I was running down.

_Where is he? _ I thought furiously, looking around all the dumpsters and trash cans as I fled. At the end of the alley there was a tall chain link fence which I scaled it expertly. I looked both ways before jumping down into the street below me. I ran in the opposite direction of the noise and lights.

I turned into the next alley and ducked behind a large dumpster. I took deep breaths, trying to slow down my heart rate. "Damn it, Riker, where are you?" I whispered to myself.

We had run in opposite directions after the police showed up so that if one of us got caught the other could bail them out. That was always our plan. I knew he couldn't have gotten caught because he never did. I was always the one getting bailed. Besides, the cops had followed me anyway. There were only two, and I'd lost them within the first sixty seconds of the chase. They probably figured they'd have a better chance at catching me, the younger and smaller one, but Riker had taught me better than that.

I was starting to get worried. This was where he told me to meet him. He should be here by now. _Come on, you idiot, don't leave me, _I pleaded in my mind. _Not now. I can't do this without you. _

The next thing I knew, a strong hand clamped over my mouth and an equally strong arm grabbed my waist and started dragging me backwards. I thrashed and clawed at my restraints. I would have screamed too but I knew better than that. Screaming attracted more people.

Then I felt the grip of my captor loosen and I whirled around to face them. My face burned with anger as I met the hazel eyes and playful smirk I knew so well.

"What the hell?!" I whisper/screamed at him.

"Quiet!" Riker whispered back. "Do you want to get caught?"

"No, but apparently you do. What if I made noise?"

"I taught you better than that. You wouldn't have screamed even if you wanted to."

I sighed and went from my confrontational position up on my knees down to where I was still sitting on my knees but they were bent more rather than at a ninety degree angle.

Then I reached forward and wrapped my arms around his neck. He returned the hug with one arm around my waist and his other hand on the back of my head.

"What took you so long?" I said into his shoulder. "I was starting to worry."

He didn't answer right away. When he did though, it sounded forced. "I just got a little lost on my way over here, that's all."

He was lying. He knew this city better than anyone. You could blindfold him, tell him to walk all the way to the other side of it, and he would get there without any problems at all. Riker was hiding something from me.

I pulled away and looked him in the eye.

"You really expect me to believe that lame excuse?"

He dropped his head and ran his hand through his blonde hair as he sighed.

"Skye…" he looked back up at me with his eyes but kept his head down so that he was looking through his eyelashes.

"Remember Rule Number One?" I said crossing my arms over my chest. He'd better remember. He was the one who made the rule.

"Of course I do but—"

I cut him off. "No secrets."

He sighed again and sat against the brick wall, leaning his head back against it as well. He rubbed his face with his hands and then looked at me with so much seriousness I was almost afraid to find out what he was going to say.

"Skye, we need to leave."

"Leave? Leave where? Why?"

He almost laughed a bit. "Would you let me finish? I ran into some guys I knew before I got you out of the orphanage. I left them on a bad note and they've been out to get me ever since."

"And they just let you go?"

"Well, I owe them some money and they told me if I didn't pay it back before the end of the month they'd—" his voice broke.

"They would what?" I said quietly, not really wanting to know the answer.

"They said they would take you from me."

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, it means a lot to me :) Also, I don't usually like swearing but I felt that it worked with the story.

Don't forget to review please! If I don't get at least one review (nkb99 and R5inmysoul, I'm sorry but you don't count ;P) then I won't post any more but I'm really into this story so I hope I can share more of it with you guys. Thanks again.

~glamgirl16


	2. I Already Miss You with All of My Soul

Thank you so much to my first reviewer (that wasn't nkb99, sorry I still love you) for responding to my story! I was beginning to lose hope. So anyway thanks again. In your review you said that you wanted to find out more about how they met and stuff. Well what a complete coincidence that I already had chapter two written with everything you wanted to know in it :D Enjoy!

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Boston, Massachusetts

7:00 a.m., April 18th

If there was one thing in this world that I knew Riker would never give up, it was me. The same way a mother would never do anything to hurt her child, or the way a collector always has that one prized item. That's what I was to him.

Last year, I was fifteen years old and still living in the same gray building I had my entire life. Riker and I met on my birthday. We had both been stealing from the same convenience store, only I had gotten caught by the owner. He hadn't called the police yet. He was just giving me one of those long "Give me one reason why I shouldn't turn you in" lectures. I was sure I was going to jail for the rest of my life. I had no one to bail me out. That's when Riker walked right up to the man and said the words that saved my life.

_"Excuse me sir, I'm really sorry about all this. My sister hasn't exactly been hanging out with the right crowd lately. Here, is this enough to pay for what she took?" He held out a ten dollar bill._

_The owner took it, mumbling things like "I suppose it'll do" and "Make sure it doesn't happen again."_

_Then Riker looked at me and said "Now, Rydel, apologize to this nice man."_

_It took me a few second to realize he was talking to me. I recovered, though, and looked up at the owner and said as sincerely as I could "I'm really sorry, sir. I promise I'll never steal from your store again."_

_A few minutes later I was walking down the sidewalk next to Riker. The first thing I asked him was what made him call me Rydel._

_From the pained look on his face I could tell it was a touchy subject._

_"You don't have to answer," I said. "I was just wondering."_

_"No, its okay," he kept his head down. "Rydel was my sister's name."_

_I decided not to ask about it anymore._

_"By the way," he finally looked up at me. "What is your real name?"_

_"Skye," I said. "And thanks for helping me out back there. I probably would have gotten in huge trouble. The people who run the orphanage I'm in, if they found out all my freedom would've been taken away for a month."_

_"I'm Riker. And don't worry about it. I watched you the whole time and I couldn't help but notice all the things you could've done differently so that you wouldn't get caught."_

_"Yeah, well, I haven't exactly been schooled on grand theft."_

_"Obviously," he nudged my shoulder, making me laugh._

So this is what it's like to have an older brother._ I thought to myself.  
_  
Two weeks later he'd broken me out of the orphanage and ever since we'd been running from the cops and stealing to get by. Now he was saying we had to leave Boston. To be honest I was surprised he'd never brought this up earlier. I mean sure Boston is a big city but we couldn't keep running in circles forever.

"Riker," I sat next to him against the wall. "You don't have to protect me. I can take care of myself." Of course, I wasn't telling the truth. I needed him more than he needed me. I just didn't like seeing him like this. It broke my heart.

"I'm sure you could," he said, not buying it. "But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you. Especially if it was my fault."

We sat in silence for a few minutes as the sun rose over the city skyline. After a while, Riker finally stood up.

"Come on, let's head home and we'll start getting ready to go." He pulled me up with him and wrapped me in that protective hug that I felt so safe in.

"I love you, Skye," he said into my hair, then kissed the top of my head.

Riker was like a big brother to me. And I knew that all he saw me as was a little sister. A replacement for the "Rydel" he lost. But ever since he got me out of that orphanage, I'd felt something more. More than just the kind of love between a brother and sister.

"I love you, too, Riker."

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Yeah yeah I know it was short but did the little flashback explain it enough? If it seems like there are a few things unsaid and/or you'd like to know a bit more feel free to PM me or you can just review and I'll reply :)

And now to show thanks to nkb99, whom I did not count as a real first review because I told her to come and read the story. Thank you for reading and reviewing all my stories like a true friend :) There's no way I could make it without ya *starts singing* Do it without ya! Be here without ya! And IIIIIIII own this dream- *clears throat* ANYWAY thanks ;P

~glamgirl16


	3. The Wheels on this Train Keep Turning

Aaaand I'm back! So I didn't really get many more reviews on the last chapter (but thank you nkb99 and R5inmysoul ;) ) But I really like this story so I'm gonna update more. Maybe the next few chapters will be more interesting, I don't know. So, anyway, please enjoy! :)

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Boston, Massachusetts

8:00 a.m., April 18th

We headed back "home," which is what we called the run down mobile home in the trailer park we were currently sneaking into. We'd been staying there for a few months, the longest we've ever kept a shelter, and I was kinda sad to leave it. It was the closest thing we'd ever had to a real house.

I immediately went into my room to pack up my backpack. I grabbed the few articles of clothing I owned, a few books, my plastic bag of toiletries, my song journal, and went back into the living area where Riker was putting his guitar in its case, his backpack already on his shoulder.

"Ready?" He said picking up the case. I nodded and grabbed my jacket before following him out the door.

We walked in the opposite direction of the landlord's building back in the direction of the busy part of the city.

"So," I said once we were on the street. "Where exactly are we going?"

"Don't know," Riker replied. "We'll just jump a train and go wherever it takes us."

"Oh," I said. I'd never jumped a train before. The thought gave me butterflies.

Riker led me to a part of town I was unfamiliar with. It started to look less friendly and more intimidating. I moved closer to him and he put his arm around my shoulders and said "Don't worry, I got you."

We arrived at the rail yard, trying to stay out of sight. I stayed close to Riker while he searched for a train to ride on. He turned to look at me and pointed to one with a few workers around it.

"They're getting that one ready to leave." He whispered to me. "Once they get on the train we'll jump into that car there." He pointed to one close to the end. "Make sure you get on before it starts moving or else you might not make it. They pick up speed really quickly."

My heart started beating faster in anticipation and I tried to keep my breathing steady. Riker noticed this and laughed a bit.

"I was nervous my first time, too." He said in a low voice. "But believe me, once it's over, you'll want to do it again."

The workers started yelling a bunch and some climbed onto the train and some stayed on the platform.

"Ready?" He said.

I nodded, my heart beating a mile a minute. We walked over to the car we wanted to board on the side opposite of the platform so we wouldn't be seen. Riker helped me up into it just as it started moving.

As soon as I was in I turned around and held out my arm to help Riker up. The train was already picking up speed and he had to run to keep up.

"Come on!" I yelled holding my hand out farther. He grabbed on and I had to hold on to the door handle to keep from tumbling out. The trees were whipping by and Riker was now sprinting.

"Hurry, Riker, jump!" Any longer and he would be left behind. He jumped up and I swung him into the car, almost ripping my arm off. He landed with a thud too loud not to be painful. He groaned and held his right shoulder.

I rushed over to him. "Oh my god, Riker, are you okay? God, don't scare me like that."

He laughed and I helped him sit up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just landed on my shoulder is all. It'll probably be sore for a few days but I'm not going to die."

"You better not." I stood and went back over to pull the door closed, locking it in place. I went back over to where Riker was near the back of the car and sat down next to him. He put his good arm around me and said "You gonna be okay?"

I put my head on his shoulder and replied "As long as I'm with you."

I fell asleep to the rocking motion of the train and the steady breathing of Riker's chest underneath my head.

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I know this wasn't very long but if you review I'll post sooner! If you have been reading this story I would really appreciate it if you reviewed so I know you're reading. Thanks so much!

~glamgirl16


	4. I Want this for All of My Life

Okay, nkb99 and R5inmysoul this is all pretty much just for you guys at this point. Your reviews now count lol ;) If anyone else is reading this please review to let me know! I'd love to hear from you :)

And now chapter 4 ;)

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

12:00 p.m., April 18th

When I woke up the train was no longer rocking back and forth and Riker was no longer next to me. I sat up and stretched; my body sore from sleeping on the hard floor of the train car. I ran my hand through my long blonde hair to get it out of my face and tried to make sense of the situation.

"Riker?" I mumbled in my morning voice.

"Shhh," he answered. "We're stopping for fuel. If you make too much noise they'll come and check the cars." He went back to rooting around in his backpack.

"Where are we?" I asked quietly.

"Philly," he said. "I think the train is headed to Richmond, Virginia."

"Is that where we're going to stay?"

"Don't know yet. When we get there we'll look around, grab some supplies, and see what it's like there. I'd really like to get off the east coast though. The farther away, the better."

"So if we do head west we'll just take another train?"

"Or hijack a car, whichever one works out best."

Steal a car? Even that was going a little far for Riker.

"A car?" I voiced my thoughts. "Have you ever stolen a car before?"

"Not myself personally but the group of guys I was with before I met you stole cars all the time. I know how to hotwire a car, don't worry." He said confidently.

The train jerked forward and we started moving again. I wasn't finished with this, though.

"I'm not worried about not being able to hijack a car. I'm worried about getting caught and _arrested_ for stealing a car. Riker if we get caught with a stolen vehicle we'd get separated. Isn't that the whole reason we left Boston? So we wouldn't lose each other? I don't know about you but I'm not sure that's a risk I'm willing to take."

He looked up at me from where he was still going through his bag.

"Would you relax, Skye?" he snapped at me. "God, we won't get caught, alright. I'm too smart for that."

Riker had never yelled at me like that before. Ever since this morning he'd seemed really high strung. His tone made me afraid to talk again so I just grabbed my song book out of my bag and moved over to a corner away from him.

Whenever I needed time to myself that's what I did, hide away with my book until I was ready to deal with life again. Riker knew this, so when he saw me he let out a big sigh. I waited for him to say something but he never did.

I flipped through the pages of the songs I'd written. Some of them by myself, some with Riker, and there were a few he'd written himself. I landed on one in particular that I always went to when I was in a bad mood. Riker knew this too, so when he reached for his guitar, I knew exactly what he was going to play.

**Its summer time**

**And you are all that's on my mind**

**Everyday**

**It seems like we **

I joined in with the harmonies here

**_Could stay up and talk through the night_**

**Oh, what do you say?**

I walked over and sat next to him, singing the chorus.

_Say you'll stay _**(hey)**

_Hey _**(stay)**

_I just keep on wishing everyday _**(hey)**

_Hey _**(stay)**

_No more running around, running around_

**(No more running around, no, no, no) **_No_ **(No more running around) **_Running around_

_When I'm around,** Just Say You'll Stay**_

He put down his guitar and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," he said into my hair. "I'm just really stressed out with this threat hanging over my head." then his voice dropped to a whisper, "I can't lose you."

I tried my best not to cry, for Riker's sake. He was already a mess. If I started crying, it would just make the situation that much worse. Despite my efforts, though, a tear escaped as I choked back a sob. I was hoping he wouldn't notice but Riker pulled back and held me at arm's length.

"Skye…" he wiped away a tear with his thumb and rested his forehead on mine.

"Riker," I breathed.

We just sort of sat there holding each other for a while, both of us afraid to take it any further. I wasn't sure how long it had been. It wasn't until too late, though, that I realized the train had stopped and the big metal door was being slid open.

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_Italics: Skye_

**Bold: Riker**

_**Bold Italics: Riker and Skye**_

I Know I left you in a cliff hanger (sorry Darce ;) ) But the sooner you review the sooner I'll update! Heehee :) Thanks for reading!

~glamgirl16


	5. Take on the World

Wilmington, Delaware

3:30 p.m., April 18th

"Hey!" a gruff voice said.

I froze. Riker had always said I was like a deer in the headlights when I was caught. He stood up, dragging me with him.

"What do you think you're doing in here?" the same man said to us. I knew there was nothing we could say to get us out of this. One look from Riker and I knew. We were going to have to run.

Riker held up his arms in a surrendering gesture. "Hey, it's okay," He said to the man. "Look, we'll just grab our stuff and get out of your way."

He started putting his guitar back in its case and picking up his bag, motioning for me to do that same. I forced myself to put my book in my backpack and sling it over my shoulder. When I joined back up with Riker, the man spoke again.

"Oh, I don't think so. You're coming with me."

I followed Riker to the edge of the car, waiting for his signal. As soon as we had jumped out of the train, Riker looked at me from the corner of his eye and gave a slight nod of his head. That's when we ran.

I ran faster than I ever had before. I didn't even look to see where Riker was heading . I just ran. Away from people. The farther away I was from them, the smaller the chance of getting caught.

When I finally couldn't run any more, I collapsed behind a warehouse. I was relieved when Riker sat down next to me. He wasn't breathing as hard as I was but he still looked pretty beat.

"I can't move." I said trying to calm down my heart rate.

Riker laughed. "I could've gone longer but we've gotten far enough." He said in the superior voice he used just to get on my nerves.

"Shut up," I said pushing him over by his shoulder.

"God, I'm hungry as hell," he said reaching into his backpack. He pulled out a bag of potato chips, a couple of water bottles, a fruit cup, and a pack of peanut butter crackers.

He handed me a bottle of water and gave me first pick between the crackers or the fruit. I chose the fruit and he smiled like he knew exactly what I would pick. He took the crackers for himself and opened the bag of chips and put it between us to share.

"So," I said popping a grape into my mouth. "Now what?"

"See that Mazda over there?" he pointed to a white Mazda Protégé parked a little ways down the backstreet we were facing. I knew his plan before he even said anything else.

"Do we really have to, Riker?" I complained. I hated the thought of stealing something as valuable as a car.

"Well, we don't really have any other option." He said, obviously getting annoyed with my opinion on the matter. "We could try to catch another train but after getting caught on the last one it's not something I'd like to risk again."

I sighed and took a sip from my water bottle. I still didn't like the idea but if Riker still hasn't changed his mind after me nagging him this much, he wasn't going to change his mind at all.

"Fine," I gave in. "Just be extra careful driving because if we get pulled over we're screwed."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. We'll head across the country. Take I-40 straight to LA. We can make a brand new life there, Skye, just like we've always talked about. It'll be great."

He seemed lost in his thoughts for a moment then he turned to me. "What do you think?"

I still wasn't real keen on the idea of hijacking a car but if I were given the choice, I wouldn't want to be with anyone else.

I look back at him the same way I did when he first asked me to run away with him.

"I think we should get this show on the road."


	6. When Things Get Rough

Okie dokie so here's chapter six. Just as a warning I'm going to let you guys know that I cried while writing this chapter so if you get easily emotional you might want to keep tissues nearby...

But this one is for you nkb99 ;) Luv ya 3

Enjoy! :)

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Wilmington, Delaware

4:00 p.m., April 18th

It only took Riker a few minutes to break in and hotwire the car but it felt like an eternity. I was constantly glancing up and down the street to make sure no one was watching us.

"Done!" he said from inside. "Hop in and we'll get going."

I quickly got inside the car and buckled my seatbelt. Riker threw our stuff in the back seat and put the car in drive. My heart was pounding. I'd never done something like this before. Though, that did seem to be the theme of the day. First we were jumping a cargo train, and now this? This definitely was not on my to do list when I woke up this morning.

Riker drove north on Concord Pike in order to get to Interstate 76. I was breathing heavily and trying to calm my anxiety.

"You okay?" he glanced over and saw how nervous I was.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine just worried I guess." I answered quickly.

"We'll be fine alright? We won't get—" he seemed to remember something and then slammed the wheel in frustration. "Damn it!"

"What's wrong?" I asked. His sudden outburst scared me.

"We're going to have to switch license plates with another car. The police can track a stolen vehicle's license plates. How could I have been so stupid?!"

He was obviously mad at himself. I wanted to tell him it was okay, that it wasn't a big deal and we could just take the next exit, find another car and switch the plates. Instead, I had the urge to rub an "I told you so" in his face.

"I knew this was a bad idea!" I yelled in his face. "If you had just listened to me in the first place we wouldn't have had to worry about this. I'll bet those guys are already following us! If they're anything like you they're probably tailing us right now!"

I saw Riker glance at the rearview mirror as if he actually expected them to be there. Maybe these guys are better than I thought. By now Riker was seething. I don't think I made it any better by screaming at him and blaming all this on him.

I waited for him to turn off the highway, to go find another car to switch plates with. He didn't though. I could tell it was taking all his will power not to scream at me. He was under too much stress for me to be treating him like this and I felt terrible for it. I was going to apologize for saying those things. I wanted him to know that I didn't mean it. Before I could say anything, though, he pulled over onto the shoulder and turned on me.

"Why can't you just trust me?" he yelled. I immediately regretted every mean thing I ever said to him. I was about to answer but he wasn't done.

"I'm doing all this for you! Why do you think we left Boston? If only you would just trust that I'll keep you safe."

I tried to keep my lip from quivering. I didn't like it when he yelled like this, especially when it was directed at me. I wanted to say something, to say I was sorry. But I was afraid if I did speak, I would start crying.

"It hurts me to think that you could be taken away from me. I can't stand the thought! And when you don't trust me enough to take care of you, it breaks my heart. Why don't you trust me, Rydel?!"

There it was again. This wasn't the first time he's called me Rydel without thinking. It'd only happened once before, not including the day we met. I'd tripped while we were running one day and sprained my ankle. While he was comforting me through the pain he'd called me Rydel. I hadn't thought much of it but he always avoided the question when I asked about his sister. It made me very curious.

"You called me Rydel," I said quietly.

"What?" he asked confused.

"You called me Rydel, again. When you were yelling at me."

He seemed to only just realize it. Riker put his head in his hands and sighed heavily.

"I—I'm sorry, Skye," I could hear the sadness in his voice. "You just remind me so much of her."

"What happened to her?" I took the risk.

"I don't want to talk about it." I looked away from me.

"I think I deserve to know, Riker." I told him.

He sighed again. "About a year before I met you, we were travelling with the same group of guys I owe money to. She was the only girl, I think she was fifteen at the time, and I knew it was a bad idea for her to be around them. They weren't very good at keeping their hands to themselves. I made sure to always keep an eye on her at all times in case one of my buddies tried something. But the one time I let her out of my sight—"

He stopped and took a deep breath. I could tell he was still really mad about this.

"She came to me one night crying, saying that Drew, the head of the group, had been touching her and trying to force her down. I was so mad I was seeing red. I walked right up to him and hit him right in the jaw. It turned into this huge fight. He threatened to kill Rydel if I kept getting in his way. That sent me over the edge. I told Rydel we were leaving. Drew didn't like deserters. So, he—he…"

Riker looked up at me. The pain was evident on his face; it hurt him a lot to talk about it. I could see tears in his eyes. By this point there were tears streaming down my face as well.

"They took her and shoved her in the back of a car. She was screaming and crying, yelling for me to help her. They had to hold her down. They beat me up so I couldn't follow them. I watched the car drive away as I sat helpless in the street. Never in my life have I ever felt worse than that moment when I lost the one thing I loved most. I never saw her again."

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't say anything.

"That's why I wanted to run, Skye," he said to me. "I can't let them take you away from me like they did Rydel."

"Riker—" I said trying to speak through the tears. "Riker, I'm so sorry."

I reached over the center console and threw my arms around his shoulders.

"And I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't actually tell you the whole truth this morning…"

I pulled away and looked into his hazel eyes.

"What do you mean?" I sniffled.

"When I ran into them earlier… I don't actually owe them money."

I sat all the way back in my seat, now confrontational. "You lied to me?" fresh tears pricked at my eyes.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to burden you with the whole story. The real reason they came to me is because Drew wanted me to join again. I told him no, that I had you to take care of now and I wasn't about to bring you with me, not after what he did to my sister. He got mad and threatened to come after us if we tried to run."

"Well, then why the hell are we still sitting here on the interstate where he could pull up behind us any second? Let's get the hell out of here!"

Riker laughed as I was beginning to get back to my normal self. He put the car in drive and we were back on the road to Los Angeles.

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*sniffles* I'm sorry you guys :,( I'm gonna warn you though, there will be more intense scenes in later chapters so just prepare yourselves.

So, nkb99? You wanted to know what happened to Rydel? Here it is. Let me just say: You asked for it.

Anyway thank you all for reading :) I love hearing back from you so please review! :D

I love you all,

~glamgirl16


	7. Be My Baby

Heehee you guys'll like this chapter ;)

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Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

10:00 p.m., April 18th

I had fallen asleep somewhere around Harrisburg, PA and a few hours later it was dark out when Riker woke me up saying we were staying in Pittsburg for the night. The digital clock in the car read 10:12 so we must have been driving for a few hours.

"I'm going to go grab some stuff from this mini mart down the street, okay?" He said to me. "I'll be right back."

"Mhm…" I mumbled rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"I'm also going to switch the plates while I'm out."

I nodded and rolled over on the reclined passenger seat, drifting off again. I heard him get out of the car and lock the doors.

A few minutes later I was wide awake. I was the kind of person who could not fall asleep again once I've been woken up. I moved to the backseat so I'd have more room and pulled out my song journal. I flipped through the pages, stopping on one Riker had written recently.

_You're like mismatched socks, with polka dots_

_You like your pizza cold, I think that's hot_

_You like to swim at night when the moon is full_

_You think that makes you strange, I think that's cool_

**_And you say you're scared that I won't be there_**

**_But baby, I swear_**

**_I'm not going anywhere_**

I had gotten so caught up in singing that I didn't notice when Riker had climbed in the backseat with me. It surprised me when he joined in with the harmonies right before the chorus, in which we switched roles, myself taking the harmonies and Riker singing the melody.

**_You could change your hair five times a week_**

**_You can change your name, get a little bit crazy_**

**_You can dance in the rain, rocking second-hand chic_**

**_But I live for the day that I'm callin' you baby_**

**_'Cuz I'm fallin' for you_**

**_For everything that you do_**

**_Baby, I'm fallin' for you_**

**_You might be crazy but baby_**

**_I'm fallin' for you_**

I loved singing that song. It had such a melody that could lift up your spirits no matter the situation. And in this case, I needed all the help I could get.

I looked over at Riker to see him giving me a big smile.

"What?" I asked questioning the look he was giving me.

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head and going to get stuff out of his bag.

"Riker you know you can't do that to me." I hated it when he did that and he knew it. It drove me nuts when someone wouldn't tell me something.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it!" he was avoiding eye contact. Now I had to know.

"Riker Anthony Lynch if you don't tell me right now then I'll—I'll…" I tried to think of something good. "Then I won't talk to you until you tell me!"

He looked at me with a smirk. "Yeah, that'll last all of two minutes."

"Oh yeah?" I challenged. "Watch me."

I turned towards the window and crossed my arms.

"Suit yourself." He said and went back to pulling food out of his backpack.

I watched out of the corner of my eye as he brought out the things he took from the mini mart.

He'd gotten a few toiletries as well as food which was good. One thing that caught my eye though was chocolate pudding. If there was anything on this earth that I loved more than Riker or music it was chocolate pudding. My resolve was quickly crumbling and he knew it. He smirked again. It was like he knew before he came back to the car that he would need bribe material.

"You know, I'm not a huge fan of chocolate pudding…" Riker said coolly. "There's gotta be someone who'll eat it for me. It would be such a shame to let it go to waste—"

"Oh, to hell with it," I turned and grabbed the pudding and a plastic spoon, ripping off the top and taking a mouthful. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had it.

Riker was smirking at me again.

"Don't think you've won, mister," I said taking another spoonful. "You still need to tell me what you were making that goofy face at me for."

"Really it's nothing," he waved me off. "You'll think it's stupid and you'll tease me about it 'till the day I die."

"Oh, come on, Riker, I'm not gonna think it's stupid."

"But does that mean you'll tease me?"

"Hey," I said shrugging my shoulders. "Can't make any promises."

He laughed. I loved his laugh. It gave the same effect as music; it could always make me happy.

"Alright, alright," he gave in. "The reason I was smiling like a dork is because when you sing and really put your heart and soul into it, it's like you go into some sort of trance."

I scrunched my eyebrows and tilted my head to show that I didn't quite understand.

"You'll close your eyes," he explained further, "and it's like the only thing that exists to you, in that moment, is the music. And the way your eyebrows move and when you lift your arms and sort of interpret the lyrics with your hands. And your voice," he let out a small laugh, "I could listen to your voice for hours and never get tired of it."

I wasn't sure what to say. He'd never poured his heart out to me like this before. It was so touching I started to tear up.

"Riker," I said. "That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. But the best part is; it means the world coming from you."

I reached over and pulled him into a hug. When we pulled away, though, Riker did something I didn't expect.

He kissed me.

It only lasted a second but it was easily the best second of my entire life.

"Riker—"

I started to speak but he cut me off.

"Skye," he said looking into my eyes. "I'm falling for you."

My breath hitched but I was able to get out one more sentence.

"I love you, Riker."

"I love you, too, Skye. More than anything in the world."

He kissed me again but this time it was more passionate. He brought his hand to the back of my neck to deepen the kiss. I never wanted it to end. When we broke apart I was breathing heavily, unsure of what to do next.

"We should get some sleep," Riker said at last. "We've got a long day ahead of us."

I nodded. "Yeah," I said quietly. "Yeah, okay."

We cleared off the back bench and moved close together so we'd fit. I lied down in between the back of the seat and Riker. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on top of my head.

"Good night, Skye." He whispered.

"Night, Riker." I said into his chest.

* * *

So? Was it worth the wait? I couldn't wait to post this one, its my favorite so far. I teared up while writing it because it's so freaking cute. Anyway Please review because I love you all :)

~glamgirl16


	8. It Doesn't Matter What You Say

Well, I got a great response from the last chapter. Glad you guys liked it ;) So without further ado, Chapter 8 :D

* * *

Day 2

Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

8:00 a.m., April 19th

When I woke up the next morning the first thing I saw was Riker's sleeping face. I smiled as I remembered the previous night. I felt my cheeks get warm and I instinctively tilted my head downward.

My forehead bumped into Riker's chest and I realized his arms were still around me. I loved the feeling of this closeness. I felt safe and protected. I knew Riker would do whatever it took to keep me from harm. And that scared me.

I was afraid that one day he'd get hurt trying to save me. That he'd push me out of the path of a moving bus but then not be able to get out of the way in time. Or jump in front of a bullet that was aimed at me. I knew he would do any one of those things and I couldn't stand the thought of losing him that way.

"What are you thinking about?"

Riker's voice startled me. I looked up into his hazel eyes and saw him smiling down at me.

"How long have you been awake?" I said, annoyed that he hadn't said anything.

"When you moved your head your hair tickled my chin. I could tell you were deep in thought because your eyebrows scrunched together and you were frowning. What's bothering you?"

"I don't know," I said looking down again. I started playing with his hoodie strings. "It's not even anything that's actually happening. Just one of those worst-case-scenarios that my brain thinks up."

"You wanna talk about it?" he sounded a little worried now.

"No, it's nothing." I shook my head. "I don't want to put any more stress on you."

"Hey," he lifted my chin with his finger. "What happened to Rule Number one?"

I sighed. "I'm just worried about you."

He chuckled a little and I felt it vibrating through his chest. "You're worried about me?"

"But that's exactly my point. You're just really protective over me. I mean that's not a bad thing, don't get me wrong, but I'm just afraid that one day you'll de trying to keep me safe. I'd never be able to live with myself if that happened…"

Riker wrapped his arms tighter around me and pulled me closer. I felt him press his lips to the top of my head.

"Skye," he said into my hair. "You're worth more than anything in the world to me. If I lost you, I don't know what I'd do. If either of us was ever going to die by an unnatural cause I would want it to be me. If you were killed and I could have saved you I would never forgive myself."

"But did you ever think that I might not be able to live without you? You're all I have Riker. If something were to happen to you then who would bail me out if I got caught stealing graham crackers? Who would play the guitar for me while I sing? Who would keep me safe? Riker, I can't do this without you."

"Then how about we make a deal? We'll protect each other. And if either one of dies doing our job then we have to promise that we'll move on and not beat ourselves up about it. Skye, if I die saving your life you need to promise me that you won't blame yourself and that you will continue on with your life and not get into too much trouble. Okay?"

"Okay, I promise. And Riker, if I die while trying to save you, promise that you will not go doing stupid stuff just because I'm not around to keep you from doing it. And promise that you won't get sloppy. It would be nice if you didn't spend the rest of your life in jail for slipping up on something that even I could've done right."

"I promise," he pecked the tip of my nose. "Now let's go find some breakfast." He said getting up.

"And a bathroom," I added, sitting up and combing through my waist-length, curly, blonde hair with my fingers.

Riker noticed me having trouble doing so and his face lit up.

"Oh! I got you something last night." He rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a hair brush and some hair ties.

"Riker," I said in a scolding tone. "You didn't have to get me anything."

"I know, but I wanted to," he said setting them on my lap. "And besides, you need them. Your hair is getting too long to just be using your fingers."

"You have a point," I said tearing the plastic off of the brush. It had taken me almost a half an hour to get my entire head combed through.

"God, I never realized how bad it was." I said trying to get rid of this one knot that wouldn't come untangled.

"Well, you haven't really had access to a mirror lately." Riker said.

"You could have told me!" I playfully slapped his shoulder.

He just laughed as I pulled all my hair to one side and put it in a pony tail over my right shoulder.

"Come on," he said moving to the driver's seat. "Let's go see if we can find somewhere to pillage."

I laughed and joined him up front.

* * *

This was pretty much just a boring filler chapter but I thought the conversation was cute :) *cough cough* It's foreshadowing *cough*

So please review :D I love you all so much!

~glamgirl16


	9. When We Have Love

Merry Belated Christmas! And Happy Early New Years! :D

So I have been writing like crazy and I just finished chapter 17 ^_^ Thank you guys so much for supporting me in this story. It's my favorite out of all the ones I've written before. I just wanted to thank you so much ;)

Okay I'll stop talking now :P Chapter 9!

* * *

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

9:00 a.m., April 19th

We drove around for a little while looking for somewhere to stop. I glanced towards the dash board of the car and something came to mind.

"Hey, Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"What do we do when the car runs out of gas?"

He groaned and leaned his head back against the seat. "I hadn't thought of that."

"We could use the bail money we have saved up…" I said hesitantly. I didn't really want to. If we ran out of bail money I would probably be the one to get stuck in a holding cell.

"No," Riker said, probably thinking the same thing. "I don't want to take that risk." He pulled into a parking spot on the side of the road and turned off the engine so we wouldn't waste the little fuel we had left.

He rubbed his face with both his hands. "I'm sorry I keep screwing up, Skye. I'm supposed to be looking out for you and all I do is get us closer to getting caught."

I turned and grabbed my song journal, flipping to one Riker and I had written recently.

_I was blown away_

_Busy disappearing 'till I saw your face_

_In the stratosphere and now _

_I can't escape the force field that we're in_

_Got me light years away_

_So outta space_

_Without a trace_

Riker joined me, singing the harmony while we continued on to the chorus. I nodded my head back and forth as we started rocking out to the beat.

**_Baby we're gone_**

**_Baby we're gone, come on_**

**_Ain't no way we're going home_**

**_Let's stay on the run forever_**

**_Let's go nowhere that we know_**

**_Get strange with the stars together_**

**_We can do what you wanna do_**

**_So, what you wanna do?_**

**_Baby, we can do better_**

**_Ain't no way we're going home_**

**_Yeah, so let's go_**

**_Yeah, let's go_**

We got out of the car, Riker grabbing his guitar, and sat on the sidewalk. He started strumming the cords to the second verse while I sang.

_Burning air_

_You lit a fire_

_Feel like millionaires_

_Blacktop to tires_

_Let's get__** outta here**_

_You make it brighter when we _

**_Can't see the road_**

**_Where does this go_**

**_God only knows_**

**_Baby we're gone_**

**_Baby we're gone, come on_**

A few people had stopped to listen. Someone even dropped a dollar in Riker's open guitar case. We exchanged surprised looks as we continued into the chorus

**_Ain't no way we're going home_**

**_Let's stay on the run forever_**

**_Let's go nowhere that we know_**

**_Get strange with the stars together_**

**_We can do what you wanna do_**

**_But, what you wanna do_**

**_Baby we can do better_**

**_Ain't no way we're going home_**

**_Yeah, so let's go_**

**_Yeah, let's go_**

Riker stopped strumming as we finished the last few lines a cappella.

**_Ain't no way we're going home_**

**_Yeah, so let's go_**

**_Yeah let's go_**

The small crowd of people cheered and more and more people were donating money.

A girl who looked to be in her early twenties came up to us smiling widely.

"You guys are _really _good," she told us. "I really enjoyed listening."

"Thank you so much!" I said.

She turned and walked back down the street, dropping a ten dollar bill in the case on her way.

Once all the people had continued on their way, Riker and I got back into the car to count the money.

"Oh my god," I said once I'd added it all up. "Riker, this is almost thirty dollars!"

"Damn, we should do this more often." He said, counting it again.

"Are we really that good?" I'd never really thought of us as really good singers or anything spectacular like that.

"You are," Riker said in a serious tone.

I looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his face. Out of the two of us I always thought Riker had the best chance of actually getting somewhere in the music business. I've never seen anything but flaws in my singing voice.

He looked at me for a while and an amused smile played across his lips. The he laughed and shook his head, looking away. He wasn't laughing at me, though. It seemed more like he was laughing at his own thoughts.

"What?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

"Nothing," he shook his head again. "It's just, you're exactly like her."

"Exactly like who?"

"Rydel," Riker looked back up at me. "She thought the same way about herself. She didn't realize how talented she was either or how much other people loved to hear her sing. Even when they told her how great she was she never really believed it. You have the same personality too. She loved to roll down the windows and let the wind blow through the car. She did that same adorable eyebrow thing that you do while singing. You even look like she did!"

I wasn't sure if it was hurting him to talk about it. It didn't seem that way. But there was something about the way he talked about her that made me a little worried.

"Riker," I asked quietly. "You're talking about her in the past tense, like she doesn't exist anymore. Why?"

He turned away. Now he looked hurt.

"I'm pretty sure Drew killed her, like he said he would. One of the other guys had told me that, before I started hanging out with them, there had been another girl that traveled with them. He said that all Drew did was take advantage of her. One day one of the other guys had said something to him about it, telling him to just leave her alone. Drew ended up killing the girl and the guy who stood up for her. I'm actually really surprised he didn't kill me when I yelled at him for touching Rydel."

I'd never realized how hard Riker's life had been with these guys. I didn't blame him for wanting to leave them. I just wish he didn't have to go through all that pain to get away.

"Come on," I said breaking the tension. "let's go refill this thing."

Riker started the car again and drove down the street to a gas station.

* * *

So there was a little bit more of Riker's past there (hardly any but whatevs :P)

Coming up in the next chapter: Skye has a flashback of the orphanage! Make sure you review so I can post it ;P (that was my sad attempt at bribery lol)

Anywhoserz thanks for reading :D

~glamgirl16


	10. We've Got Enough

Heyyyy, how y'all doin'? I know I haven't really posted lately so sorry about that I've been CRAZY busy this week but I got to visit the Empire State Building with my friends nkb99 and shakespearqueen72 (both of them have great stories so go check 'em out)

So, ANYWAY, you probably came here to read the chapter so I'll shut up now. Enjoy! :)

* * *

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

11:00 a.m., April 19th

While Riker was pumping the gas into the car, I started thinking about my life before meeting Riker. Life at the orphanage had been a living hell. I hated it there and the older I got the worse they treated me. I remember the day I met Riker. I had gotten in a lot of trouble for sneaking out.

_"So, I'll see you around?" Riker said after walking me back to the orphanage._

_"Probably not anytime soon," I said looking down at my worn converse. "I'll probably be grounded for life for sneaking out today…"_

_"Oh…" he said disappointed. "I wouldn't want you to get in anymore trouble."_

_"Don't worry about it, I'll be fine."_

_He nodded and started to turn away but I stopped him before he left._

_"Hey," he looked back at me. "Thanks a lot for helping me out today. The crazy lady that runs this place would have never let me hear the end of it."_

_"No problem," he said smiling. "Glad I could help."_

_He turned and walked down the street with his hands in his pockets. I smiled and turned back towards the large grey building just in time to see someone move away from spying in the windows. I huffed out an exasperated breath knowing exactly who it was._

_I walked in the big doors of Love's Home for Girls, bracing for the onslaught of questions._

_"Who was that?"_

_I didn't even look at her, I just kept on walking up the stairs._

_"None of your business, Kat," I snapped, hearing her light footsteps following me._

_"Miss Love is not going to be happy with you; sneaking out to see a boy. You are gonna be in so much trou—"_

_I stopped at the top of the huge stair case and whirled around to face her._

_"Would you just leave me alone and go find someone else to tattle on? I'm tired of you sticking your freckled nose into my business."_

_I turned back around and walked down the hall to the room I shared with, unfortunately, Kat. Apparently, in her mind, since we were roommates it gave her the right to know every single detail of my personal life. She was also the one who always told on me to Miss Love. Who, by the way, does not live up to her name by any means._

_Miss Love practiced discipline like a religion. She took away meal privileges when we talked back to her, locked us in closets when we left the house without permission, and smacked our hands with a wooden spoon if we took anything that belonged to her. I hated that woman with a burning passion. So when she walked into our bedroom and gave me a stern look you can imagine how overjoyed I was. Which would be not at all._

_"Skye," she said in a nasally voice._

_"Yes, ma'am?" I replied in my kiss up tone, causing Kat to roll her eyes._

_"Where have you been? I don't recall giving you permission to leave, young lady."_

_"I'm sorry, Miss Love. I must have forgotten to ask you. I promise it'll never happen again." I laid on the sarcasm pretty thick. I was notorious for getting two or more punishments in a matter of two minutes._

_"Skye, you just earned yourself a skipped meal and a night in the closet." _

_I sighed and grabbed my song journal before trudging out of the room and down the hall to the broom closet. As soon as I was inside, Miss Love slammed the door and turned the lock. I waited until I heard her footsteps walk back to her office at the opposite end of the hall and before leaning against the far wall and sliding down to the floor. _

_I'd spent so much time in the closet that I only slept in my regular bed once or twice a week. I opened up to the first page of my journal to the very first song I ever wrote and sang._

_"I know exactly how you feel_

_It doesn't matter what you say_

_I see the sun begin to set_

_And we gotta, gotta get away_

_I got a patch of open road_

_I already miss you with all of my soul_

_So before we both get old_

_I think we gotta, gotta get away_

_I keep wishing, got the tickets stacked up on the wall_

_Let's rip 'em down and leave the town before the cops can call_

_And bring us back, cover our tracks in the dust_

_I think we must"_

_I didn't realize how much I wanted to leave this place, to get away, until I felt tears roll down my cheeks. I'd never had the courage to run away on my own before. Meeting Riker, though, had given me new hope._

_"Take on the world_

_Let's go crazy_

_Love will tell us where to go_

_I'll be your girl, be my baby_

_Love will tell us where to go_

_Oh, oh, oh, through a dark night_

_Oh, oh, oh, without a sunrise_

_Oh, oh, oh, we will be alright_

_Love will tell us where to go_

_Love will tell us where to go_

_Love will tell us where to go"_

_I made a promise to myself that night. I would see Riker again and I would leave this place forever._

"Skye?" Riker shook my shoulder gently. "You okay?"

I snapped out of my memories and stared blankly at the windshield in front of me.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"It's about the orphanage again isn't it?"

I looked over at him. "How did you know?"

"You always get that same, faraway look in your eye. What was it this time?"

"I was thinking about the day we met. Miss Love made me spend the night in the closet for sneaking out. I remember, I that was the first time I ever decided I was going to leave that place for good. You helped me realize that."

"Me? How?" he scrunched his eyebrows together like he did when he was confused, which was a rare occasion so it always made me smile.

"Before I met you, I never had the courage to leave on my own. All my time in a holding cell just goes to prove I never would have gotten far." Riker laughed at this. "But when you helped me that day, you gained my trust within five seconds of knowing you. And I knew I had found someone who could help me get away."

Riker looked at me with the same look he gave me last night, right before he kissed me. I felt a blush rise to my cheeks and I turned away covering my face with my hands and giggling like a school girl.

"Oh my god," I said into my hands.

Riker threw his head back and laughed.

"You know," he said still smiling like an idiot. "I thought we were having a moment there." He started the car.

"Just drive!" I said still feeling the heat in my face.

He laughed again and pulled out of the gas station.

"I just want you to know something, Skye." He said, serious again.

"Yeah?" I peeked out from behind my fingers.

"When I have you, I've got enough to keep me going."

I reddened again. "Oh my god, just stop!" I laughed right along with him this time as he got back onto the interstate.

* * *

So there was a cute little bit for you ;) And you got to see another flashback too :D I've been writing some mind blowing chapters lately so just be ready.

Well thank all so very much for reading. I love you tons ;)

~glamgirl16


	11. I Got a Patch of Open Road

Okay so this is pretty much just a filler chapter to show that they're making progress in their road trip (notice the change in location). Riker tells Skye a bit more about his family in this chapter too.

So, enjoy!

* * *

Columbus, Ohio

2:00 p.m., April 19th

A few hours later we were driving through Columbus, jamming to Radio Disney. Yeah, immature I know, but I loved the music they played.

I had rolled my window all the way down and I was waving my arm out of it and singing along to Taylor Swift.

"Getting back together!" I sang as the song ended. The radio announcer said a few things about Taylor's new album Red before introducing the next song.

_"And next we have Heard it On the Radio by Ross Lynch!"_

"Ooh, I love this song," I said turning it up.

_"Summer in the sand, he's the drummer in the band, droppin' the beat, she's the DJ at the boardwalk…"_

I sang along tapping the top of the window to the beat.

"Oh my god…" Riker said.

I stopped singing. "What's wrong?"

"This—This is my brother…"

"Ross Lynch is your _brother_?" I said shocked. I'd never thought anything of it, thinking Lynch was a common enough name. "Or maybe I should start with this question: You _have_ a brother? How come this is the first I'm hearing of this?"

"I guess I should also tell you that I have two more brothers, Rocky and Ryland…"

"God, Riker! Any other secret family members I should know about?"

"Other than my parents, no." he ran his fingers through his blonde hair, causing it to stick up a little at the top. "Geez, the last time I saw Ross was more than three years ago. He's what? Fifteen, now?"

He looked to me as if I knew the answer. Of course, I did. Ross was my biggest celebrity crush.

"You expect me to know? He's your brother." I said, acting almost offended.

He gave me a look that said "Cut the crap."

"Yeah, he's fifteen. And he's also on a Disney Channel TV show called Austin & Ally. The first season just ended and he recently filmed a music video for this song. _And _he's going to be in the Radio Disney Music Awards this year."

Riker stared at me blankly.

"What? I wasn't completely cut off from the world in the past year."

"I knew you liked Disney Channel. I didn't know you knew every little thing about everyone on it."

"I don't," I said looking at my lap trying to hide my blush. "Just him."

Riker smirked at me and I could tell he was going to start teasing me.

"You have a celebrity crush on my little brother." It wasn't a question. He stated it.

"Well, to be fair, I didn't know he was your brother until two minutes ago. And you didn't even know he was famous until then either."

"Now you're just trying to change the subject. Those two things have nothing to do with what I just said."

"Well, you—I…" I tried to think of a good come back to that but nothing came to me. "Just—keep your eyes on the damn road!"

He laughed and said "I win."

That was sort of a running thing between us. Every time one of us won an argument, we would "keep score" by saying "I win" just to get on the other person's nerves. He was usually the one who was getting on my nerves.

I sang along to Selena Gomez and let my hand float around in the wind, watching it's reflection in the rearview mirror.

* * *

Alright now I know the ages are all screwy and the timeline is messed up but just pretend okay? XP Its gonna start picking up in the next few chapters. I have some great stuff in store for you guys! I can't wait *high-pitched girly noises*

*ahem* Thanks for reading! Please review ;D

~glamgirl16


	12. Author's Note IMPORTANT

Hey guys, you were probably expecting an update but sadly, no. I just have something really important to tell you so please make sure you read this.

My computer broke today. Not the kind of broken that would happen if I dropped it but the kind like its really old and just died on me. I have no idea when I will be able to get a new one but until I do I won't be able to write anymore *queue dramatic music and exaggerated sobbing* In case you were wondering how I am posting this author's note, I'm using my iPod. I'm not that dumb.

I will still be able to reply to a pm or review I just can't write because I don't have Microsoft Word on my iPod :P Sooo thank you all, my lovely readers, for being so understanding. I will try to continue this story as soon as I can for you :)

I love you all! *mwahh*

~glamgirl16


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